The Role of the Executor
May 27th, 2010 Filed under: ab trust,Executor Fees,sample wills,Trusts attorney — Estate Planning Author
It is extremely important that you choose the Executor of your Will extremely carefully. A good Executor may be able to reduce the amount of tax paid on your Estate, and hopefully, will be able to manage the distribution of your assets quickly and painlessly.
In many cases we have dealt with, the person making the Will wishes to choose a particular Executor simply to make that person feel valued and involved. This is a mistake. Being an Executor brings with it a whole range of responsibilities and the designated person needs to have a sense of fairness, excellent communication skills and the ability to look at the bigger financial picture, either alone or with the help of a professional.
Often, a great deal of work is involved with Executor duties. For this reason, several individuals can be nominated – but again, do ensure that they are all amicable and will work well together as a team to distribute your Estate fairly, solving problems if and when they arise.
Some people opt for a professional Executor, such as a bank or solicitor. The advantage of this is that you can be assured that the individual will then act purely in your best interests and on a purely business level, detached from all the emotion and inter-family politics which can arise after a death. Remember however, not to get caught out by hidden charges, which can turn a seemingly low fee into a very large one, after the Estate has been distributed. Choose someone who has a transparent fee structure and will be happy to give you an estimate up front. Keep this estimate with your Will for future reference.
But what happens if, in the event of your death, the Executor has also died or the company is no longer in existence?
This situation isn’t as complicated as it first sounds. Your Will is still valid, and in this instance, it will simply fall on the shoulders of the primary beneficiaries to apply for the Grant of Probate (ie the responsibility to distribute your Estate as per your wishes). However, all named beneficiaries must agree to an individual person taking charge before this can go ahead.
